Skill library / DeepSeek

Plain English Explainer skill for DeepSeek

Official letters, energy bills, tenancy terms and council notices are often written in a way that hides the one thing you actually need to do. This skill gets DeepSeek to read the text you paste in, explain it in everyday words, and pull out the actions, deadlines and costs so nothing slips past you.

What it's good for

• A letter from the council about a change to your council tax band or bin collection that uses terms you don't recognise
• A new tenancy agreement or broadband contract where you want to know about notice periods, price rises and exit fees before signing
• A school or GP surgery notice with forms, dates and consent requests that you need to sort out as a family

How the skill works

1. 1. Read the full text I paste in and tell me in one or two sentences what kind of document it is, who it is from, and what it is mainly about.
2. 2. Explain the content in plain English, using short sentences and everyday words. If a technical or legal term is unavoidable, put it in quotation marks and explain it straight away in brackets.
3. 3. List exactly what I need to do, in order, with any deadlines, amounts of money and contact details exactly as they appear in the text. If there is nothing I need to do, say so clearly.
4. 4. Flag anything that looks unusual, costly or easy to miss, such as automatic renewals, late fees, penalties or rights to appeal, and say which part of the text it comes from.
5. 5. Finish by listing any points that are unclear or missing from the text, and suggest two or three specific questions I could ask the sender to clear them up.

Built-in rules

• Only explain what is in the text provided. Do not guess at missing details, and say so when the document does not give an answer.
• Do not give legal, medical or financial advice. For decisions with serious consequences, such as eviction notices, debt letters or court papers, say plainly that I should speak to a qualified adviser, and mention free UK options like Citizens Advice where relevant.
• Keep dates, figures and names exactly as written, and never round, convert or reword them in a way that could change their meaning.

Example

You: “Can you explain this letter from my landlord? I've pasted it below. I don't understand the part about a Section 13 notice and whether I have to pay more.”
Result: DeepSeek explains in plain words that the letter proposes a rent increase, states the new amount and start date, lists what the tenant can do if they disagree, and suggests questions to ask the landlord or Citizens Advice.

SKILL.md template

Save as plain-english-explainer/SKILL.md.

---
name: plain-english-explainer
description: "Turns confusing letters, bills, contracts, school notices and official forms into plain English. Use it when you've received something full of jargon and want to know what it means, what you need to do, and by when, without reading it three times."
---

# Plain English Explainer

## Workflow
1. 1. Read the full text I paste in and tell me in one or two sentences what kind of document it is, who it is from, and what it is mainly about.
2. 2. Explain the content in plain English, using short sentences and everyday words. If a technical or legal term is unavoidable, put it in quotation marks and explain it straight away in brackets.
3. 3. List exactly what I need to do, in order, with any deadlines, amounts of money and contact details exactly as they appear in the text. If there is nothing I need to do, say so clearly.
4. 4. Flag anything that looks unusual, costly or easy to miss, such as automatic renewals, late fees, penalties or rights to appeal, and say which part of the text it comes from.
5. 5. Finish by listing any points that are unclear or missing from the text, and suggest two or three specific questions I could ask the sender to clear them up.

## Rules
- Only explain what is in the text provided. Do not guess at missing details, and say so when the document does not give an answer.
- Do not give legal, medical or financial advice. For decisions with serious consequences, such as eviction notices, debt letters or court papers, say plainly that I should speak to a qualified adviser, and mention free UK options like Citizens Advice where relevant.
- Keep dates, figures and names exactly as written, and never round, convert or reword them in a way that could change their meaning.

How to install in DeepSeek

Copy the template above, then open DeepSeek. Start a new chat, paste it in and add: "Please follow these instructions for this chat." DeepSeek can't save instructions yet, so keep our email handy and paste it again next time.

Pro tip

DeepSeek does not keep your instructions between chats, so save the workflow as a note and paste it in at the start of each new conversation, followed by the document text. Remove personal details such as account numbers, full addresses and dates of birth before pasting.

FAQ

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